Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 1:24 pm

Fair trade, organic mistletoe

Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2010 12:52 amPosts: 3507Location: Toronto

paprikapapaya wrote:

j-dub wrote:

Gulliver wrote:

My stomach hurts and I have a nasty taste in my mouth and I think it's Tesco Free From vegan cheese. The mild one was edible but waxy, the medium one was worse, but I gave it another chance and I regret it. Does anyone know if they're related to Sheese? It has the same sharp sour aftertaste.

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 2:24 pm

Should Spend More Time Helping the Animals

Joined: Tue Dec 07, 2010 4:57 pmPosts: 6517Location: Boston, MA

Angelina wrote:

ndpittman wrote:

I'm trying to be a good PPKer, but I really want to talk about the wet charm of my holidays! Are they only in Kerala? Can't I find wet charm elsewhere? Or at least moist amusement?

I don't know about you, but I wanna go to see the wet charms of Kerala.

I'm so glad someone else saw this before it got taken down. WET CHARMS OF KERALA!

I don't know why, but that cracked me up this morning. I believe I might enjoy the misty glamour of Kathmandu more.

_________________I would eat Dr. Cow pocket cheese in a second. I would eat it if you hid it under your hat, or in your backpack, but not if it was in your shoe. That's where I draw the line. -allularpunk

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 2:25 pm

Dying from Nooch Lung

Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2010 6:30 pmPosts: 3320Location: Almost Boston

Dog pee sample collection was successful! I was going to leave the container on the porch until my mom could pick it up (she is going to the vet to pick up a cat later, so she can just take it with her then), but it is so friggin cold out that it would probably freeze within 20 min, and I don't know if frozen urine samples are acceptable. So now there is a container of dog pee in my fridge. Having pets is gross, you guys.

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 3:15 pm

Dying from Nooch Lung

Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2012 3:37 pmPosts: 3437Location: Ireland

paprikapapaya wrote:

j-dub wrote:

Gulliver wrote:

My stomach hurts and I have a nasty taste in my mouth and I think it's Tesco Free From vegan cheese. The mild one was edible but waxy, the medium one was worse, but I gave it another chance and I regret it. Does anyone know if they're related to Sheese? It has the same sharp sour aftertaste.

I tried Sheese when I first went vegan (over five years ago) and it's still the worst gustatory experience I've had.

I freaking love Sheese. Except for the smoked cheddar one, I thought that tasted like pure bile. I even recognize that it's kind of weird but it still remains one of my favourite cheeses.

I must give it another try. I only tried the smoked cheddar. It was fairly horrific.

I was worrying all day about money so I sat down this evening and done my maths all over again. It looks like I should be fine now until next payday unless I have a major emergency. So relieved! I can afford to go to a work night out now! (all it is going to cost me is petrol money and a few orange juices)

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 7:10 pm

Emotionally Allergic to Dairy

Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2010 11:28 pmPosts: 3190Location: San Francisco

I bit off more than I can chew with these exams. The amount of commentary that I'm doing in these write-ups is totally earned (my students worked really hard on these, and I am SO IMPRESSED with some of these--I have a document where I'm writing down particular bits of praise so that I can share extra-great achievements with the whole class when I pass them back and like a third of the class is on there! So awesome!), and it would be totally doable if I didn't have to do turn-around in way less than a week. I normally take two weeks for essays, and those are just a single essay with a rubric and minimal commentary. But this is just beyond the scope of what I can do.

So I'm finishing up this class with the same commentary style so everyone's is cohesive, and then I'm downgrading to less commentary. I feel awful and I wish I could give them everything that they merit, but I just. Can't. Do it.

Plus I had an abnormal pap so I had to go in for a colposcopy/biopsy today so that took a big chunk out of my day and I am going to a birthday party on Saturday and AAAAAHHHHHH.

Lesson learned: the portfolio project is SO GREAT. The students do great work and they had positive reactions to it as a task and assessment. Everything about it is awesome. However, in the system in which I am working (specifically, the way overloaded class sizes and the really quick grade submission deadline) doesn't allow me to do it properly. And that's a bummer.

So I'm making tots and continuing to grade away. Because tots will solve it.

_________________Your heart is a muscle the size of a fistKeep loving, keep fighting

Darth, I feel you are going to burn out doing this. Can you spread these things out and grade pieces over time or otherwise consolidate? I know I don't have nearly the grading load since I'm science and not English, but I really try to stagger things and minimize written feedback (for a variety of reasons). Would it work for you to take shorthand notes and then do verbal reviews?

How about a point value rubric system keyed to your common comments? I know that isn't as individualized, but that might work for the mechanics, to cut through some work.

Also, I'm jealous of your ability to get kids to submit projects. Mine choose to fail instead of assembling a project at home (from pieces completed in class).

Alternately, how about putting a lot of the portfolio assessment on them? Lots of self-reflection, group discussion, and then you can focus on facilitating considered reflection by the students.

I guess a lot of these ideas probably aren't appropriate for your specifics. I just worry about you with all the extra work you pile on yourself on top of all the work we already get!

_________________"This is the creepiest post ever if you don't know who Molly is." -Fee"a vegan death match sounds like something where we all end up hugging." -LisaPunk

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 7:40 pm

Emotionally Allergic to Dairy

Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2010 11:28 pmPosts: 3190Location: San Francisco

A lot of those things I already do, but since this is the semester exam, I don't even see them again before grades are due.

Normally I do rubrics or criteria sheets and things like that, but for something of this scale, I want to finally give them some feedback. So I'm scaling back the amount of feedback I'm giving so that it will be more manageable for me. It would also be manageable if grades weren't due so soon. It's just ridiculous how quickly they expect us to turn around enormous semester exams. It's unsurprising that so many teachers just do ScanTron multiple choice tests, even though those are not great assessments.

So it goes. The dark side of education!

_________________Your heart is a muscle the size of a fistKeep loving, keep fighting

You can make some grading strategies though. I can grade a stack 90 3-4 page short answer tests in about 2 hours. I refuse to do multiple choice except as state exam practice. The first few take me an eon, but once I get a rhythm going it flies.

I make answer sheets tailored to my tests, with all the appropriate spaces. Each page has a points total on the bottom, so I do all the front page at a time, write the total at the bottom, circle it, then flip the stack and zip through the back pages (usually a long essay), write the points, then go through the inside pages. Then, I go through and add points when I'm done grading.

I keep a list of key words for my short answer questions, so I'm just scanning. If I don't see my key words, I read more carefully. The wrong answers take longer since the right answers all look fairly similar. I do lab reports more or less the same way.

It helps to keep my test formats similar. It also helps that I'm a speed reader, but I'm guessing you probably are too.

Again, not sure how applicable these tips are to English. I do think that it is important to evaluate how much the students get out of your comments. Do they read them carefully and implement your feedback? My students mostly trash returned work, or they read comments, but don't think about them very deeply and forget about them. That is my biggest reason for doing individual mini conferences with major assignments. I highlight or circle what needs to be discussed, then once every two weeks, when kids are doing independent work, I conference with each student. This also lets me give them something concrete to do to practice or redo a skill or standard. The other benefit is that this offloads some grading time into class time, but it's still a super constructive use of the class time.

_________________"This is the creepiest post ever if you don't know who Molly is." -Fee"a vegan death match sounds like something where we all end up hugging." -LisaPunk

Forgive me if I sound like I'm trying to tell you how to,do your job! I just got home at 7 today after staying until 5 grading all the late crepe since I had to submit grades today, so I still feel like I am grading. I used up an entire Waterman fountain pen ink cartridge today!

I had my kids work on their solar system projects this week so I could sneak in grading and late work bullying! Mini conferences, and other admin duties into class time. My admin has no problem with us doing that; they encourage efficient use of our time and resources. We are very fortunate! (obviously the priority was my kids being productively engaged in things they needed to do anyway, don't get me wrong)

_________________"This is the creepiest post ever if you don't know who Molly is." -Fee"a vegan death match sounds like something where we all end up hugging." -LisaPunk

Molly really is something. When I try to take a sip of my drink, she comes rushing over and tries to push my face away with her head so she can get access to the glass. She is pretty strong--she can push an 8 lb textbook of a shelf if she wants.

_________________"This is the creepiest post ever if you don't know who Molly is." -Fee"a vegan death match sounds like something where we all end up hugging." -LisaPunk

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 9:30 pm

Should Write a Goddam Book Already

Joined: Mon Jan 16, 2012 9:37 pmPosts: 1084Location: Western Mass

I made pudding. It's not pudding yet, but I had some trouble waiting for it to thicken and got myself a small cup anyway. It's dark chocolate orange and tastes like those peel apart chocolate oranges. Mmm.

I don't know what I've done to deserve this, but my boss (who is also a friend now, so there's that) knocked $400 off our wedding venue costs yesterday, AND she put some vegetarian oyster sauce and dark chocolate in my inbox. Being appreciated is so lovely!

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2013 6:50 am

Ninja Master

Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2010 5:00 pmPosts: 4775Location: Surrey, UK

Gulliver wrote:

My stomach hurts and I have a nasty taste in my mouth and I think it's Tesco Free From vegan cheese. The mild one was edible but waxy, the medium one was worse, but I gave it another chance and I regret it. Does anyone know if they're related to Sheese? It has the same sharp sour aftertaste.

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2013 10:43 am

Kitchens Planning Manchester

Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2010 11:28 pmPosts: 2536Location: Connecticut

Ugh somehow I missed my exit (was in lala land thinking about a poem I'm working on) and was ten minutes late for work. I make this commute every day, how this happened is beyond me.Vijita, that's super rad!

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2013 11:09 am

WRETCHED

Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2010 6:54 pmPosts: 9205Location: Maryland/DC area

I have a random question. Is there a single word that encompasses all the people that live in the UK that is widely used?

Reason I was thinking about that because the shorthand for those that live in the "United states of America" is to call us American, focusing on the last word in our name. But we don't call those in the UK Kingdomers (as far as I know). I was just curious.

_________________You are all a disgrace to vegans. Go f*ck yourselves, especially linanil.

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2013 12:08 pm

WELFARIST!

Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2010 1:57 pmPosts: 5368

linanil wrote:

I have a random question. Is there a single word that encompasses all the people that live in the UK that is widely used?

Reason I was thinking about that because the shorthand for those that live in the "United states of America" is to call us American, focusing on the last word in our name. But we don't call those in the UK Kingdomers (as far as I know). I was just curious.

Hey, I was wondering this myself the other day. Because I was thinking of how Food Network (I guess this dates back to Simon Cowell) just lets a man with cooking skills, a UK accent and a foul temper on television and bang, they get a show (I was thinking specifically of Robert Irvine and Gordon Ramsay--mostly GR because he's really being overused lately--Hotel Hell, Kitchen Nightmares, Masterchef and whatelse) and then I remembered that GR is Scottish and I'm not sure if RI is British or possibly Scottish as well. But anyway, I thought of them as "UK'ers" and this is awkward and so I wondered, too, if there was another word. Hopefully, someone in the know will enlighten us.